Circular stapling instruments are well known in the surgical art for bowel surgery. An example of such a device is the Endopath ILS ECS 25 Endoscopic Curved Intraluminal Stapler made by Ethicon Endo Surgery Inc. Many circular stapler patents exist, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,898 to Becht, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,466 to Noiles, U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,053 to Bilotti et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,059 to Green et. al.
Circular stapling instruments typically use anvil assemblies which are made by machining a single piece of metal. These anvil assemblies are expensive to manufacture because of the amount of machining involved. Other circular stapling instruments use a metallic base which provides structural support along with molded features that are primarily cosmetic in nature. Still other circular stapling instruments use combination designs that are complex in design and therefore are expensive to manufacture.
An anvil assembly for a circular stapling instrument, and a method for its manufacture, is needed to reduce the substantial cost involved in current anvil assemblies.